Guyana Economic Statistics and Indicators

21, Nov 2019, EST. Welcome to the Guyana economic statistics pages provided by the beta version of EconomyWatch.com's Econ Stats database.

Economic Indicators For: Guyana › Change country
National or Regional Currency: Guyana Dollar, GYD
Year of data: 2015 › Change year
Number of Indicators Listed:
Full Dataset: From Year 1980 to 2019
Date of Last Update: 17th March 2015
Population: 735554 ; note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2014 est.)
Area: total: 214,969 sq km ; land: 196,849 sq km ; water: 18,120 sq km
Natural Resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Capital: name: Georgetown ; geographic coordinates: 6 48 N, 58 09 W ; time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector. Guyana has experienced positive growth almost every year over the past decade. Inflation has been kept under control. Recent years have seen the government's stock of debt reduced significantly - with external debt now less than half of what it was in the early 1990s. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. Despite recent improvements, the government is still juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to 21% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 60% in 2013. Guyana had become heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Much of Guyana's growth in recent years has come from a surge in gold production in response to global prices, although downward trends in gold prices may threaten future growth. In 2013, production of sugar dropped to a 23-year low.

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